Friday, 18 March 2011

Few Surprises in Charlie Sheen's Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

Last week, Charlie Sheen filed a $100 million lawsuit for wrongful termination against Warner Bros. as well as the executive producer of his hit TV show, Two and a Half Men. Sheen’s lawsuit however claims that he's suing on behalf of the entire cast and crew of the show.

For those in the media following Sheen’s antics over the past few weeks, his sacking from the show wasn't exactly a surprise. To Los Angeles wrongful termination lawyers, the $100 million wrongful termination lawsuit against the show’s production house Warner Bros. and executive producer of the show Chuck Lorre also wasn't much of a surprise. However, Sheen is suing for $100 million plus punitive damages over Warner Bros. Television's decision to shutter the sitcom for the rest of the season, and for sacking him, the star of the show. The lawsuit was filed recently in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In its letter announcing the termination, Warner Bros. has cited Sheen's arrest on charges of assaulting his wife, and his subsequent guilty plea, for its decision. According to Warner Bros., Sheen's personal issues do not allow him to do his job properly. Sheen’s lawsuit however alleges that Warner Bros. gave in to Lorre’s desire to punish Sheen and scrapped the series for the rest of the season. The star is demanding that the producers pay for eight episodes of the show that were scrapped this season. According to the lawsuit, the decision to cancel the eight episodes from this season was made because the producer Chuck Lorre hates Sheen, and because he wanted to focus on his other hit TV shows.

What could make Sheen’s lawsuit troublesome would be his erratic behavior over the recent past. His antics have been well-documented on television, and he spent most of the recent past before Warner Bros. announced it was firing him, putting up a seemingly bizarre performance on every TV show out there. A jury may have a harder time understanding that he is the wronged one here.